Faltering on the Edge of Ice
by Impersonating-an-entity
Summary: My conceptualization of Touya's past, prior to meeting the shinobi. Third person, warned for torture scenes, vague rape, and insanity. Review if you want it continued. Updated: Oct. 12 DisclaimerTouya is not mine, all others are.
1. Hiroshi

Disclaimer: Touya belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi. However, at this point in the story, unless otherwise stated, all other charries are property of ME!

Warning: swearing, Touya going slightly mad ((Like that Queen song!)), violence, lemon ((implied and quasi-graphic, but no stronger…)), some severe cruelty and severe mental wackiness.

Re: Miyuki. You will read about her later, to see another idea of her... creation, see my song fic "Hello", the woman is Miyuki. However, I didn't want to incorporate that directly into this fic. Mix and match as you like. Also, "Trapped" Links back to this. So, if you want Touya's wailing explained, here's where to come.

In case you missed: This is only my idea for Touya's past ((3rd person POV)) It is original work; it is not Yoshihiro Togashi's charrie desc. for Touya; this is not gospel, this is just good, semi-sadistic fun!

FINAL NOTE! PLEASE READ! Since you can't submit multiple signed reviews to a single chappie, if you wish to send another review, send an anonymous review with your name and e-mail me at impersonatinganentity Sorry for the spaces - you know , no links growls

Also, I finally reformated into proper chapters. If you've been keeping up, you should start roughly mid way down the second Chappie.

On to the story!

* * *

A young woman, a youkai of ice, holds tightly an infant to her chest. "Touya," she breathes, and the sleeping child stirs from the cool breath that brushes its ear from its mother's words. His eyes open, long and slit-like, revealing light blue eyes. His tiny hand grasps a lock of his mother's rippling blue-violet hair. His own hair is straight and light blue, a silent testimony to his father.

His father enters the tiny room. His mother looks up, fear and worry evident in her face and manner. "You can not hurt this child. His name is Touya. I will care for him," she says, and though her voice shakes at her defiance, it is clear she will die to protect the babe.

"No. I would not let my own son be killed. You may care for him for now, but when he grows old enough, he will train under me," replies the man, his voice resolute, but strangely kind, almost apologizing. The woman is his servant, and his lover, one of many. The child, Touya, is his son, and will also be his servant.

* * *

Laughter, quiet, so as not to draw undue attention, but laughter all the same, drifts from a young boy. Though just over 105 years old, he appears as only a small child, and acts like one quite often too. This youkai boy, who seems to be only seven, is a strange one. One minute, he romps about like a child, but at the sight of a tall, forbidding man with straight hair like his, the boy becomes quiet and submissive. He is still quite innocent, though due to his age he is more mature than he appears.

He hugs his mother, toying with her long strands of crinkly, blue-violet hair. She smiles at him, gently patting him on the head. "Mother, tell me more about your homeland, before you came here." They both knew she was enslaved, and he was too, but they always acted as though they were both there willingly. Touya could only barely understand the concept of slavery, so it was easier for them both to pretend they stayed of their own free will. And they were lucky to an extent, their master, while sometimes harsh, was just, and didn't give unwarranted punishment.

She smiles. "Hai, Toy-chan. I came from the floating lands of the koorime. It was always like a ningen's wonderful winter carnivals, every day! We all had colorful booths to sell our goods and people always talked and laughed. Children ran and played in the street, and candles in all colors, especially lavender and pale blue, lit each booth and the lampposts as well. Everything was coated in delicate layers of ice, which shone in the light, and snowflakes fell quietly at all times. Everything was silver and white and soft-looking."

Touya's eyes glinted brightly, as he listened eagerly to his mother, and though he'd heard her describe her homeland often, it never got old because there were always slight changes, and because Touya had always been interested in going and seeing for himself. He had promised to himself, on multiple occasions, that one day he would be freed, and he would go see that wonderland.

* * *

Reika held Touya, now 152 years old, and appearing only ten. Hiroshi glared at her. "Reika, you knew you would have to let me take him eventually. You agreed at his birth that I would allow you to watch him till the time came for me to take him and train him."

Reika, Touya's mother, was crying, "But do you have to take him from me? Let him stay with his mother, he's still so young!" Touya let his hand tangle with his mother's, as tears fell silently down his cheeks.

"Hiroshi-sama, please allow me to return to my mother's rooms after you train me each day," Touya pleaded, burrowing deeper into his mother's embrace.

Hiroshi, Touya's father, sighed and shook his head. "No. I will train you to be a warrior, and warriors do not return to their mother's to cry after each training session. Warriors learn to be self-sufficient. Now come along, Touya. It's time." Touya's tears began to fall faster, running down his cheeks, which were a shocking, feverish red. Rather, red-violet, because of the tint of Touya's icy blood. Hiroshi scowled. "I had been planning to take you away a few decades ago, but I decided to allow you a little longer. I've been generous, now it's time for you to come along."

Regretfully, hesitatingly, Reika released her grip on Touya, but she in no way urged him forward. Touya made no move, nor did he let go of his mother's hand. Finally, Hiroshi took an abrupt step forward and grabbed Touya by his hair, tugging him away. "NO!" Touya yelled, kicking Hiroshi, his own father, forcefully.

Hiroshi then lifted him up, by his hair still, till they were eye to eye. He glared at Touya, saying, "Do you want to fight me? If you do, that's fine. In fact, if at any time the fancy strikes you to pick a fight with me, then you just tell me and we'll go find an arena and have a good clean fight. But I'll let you know now; I'm not one for pity. I won't kick you when you're down, but I won't give soft punches either. So do you want to fight, or are you going to come with me like a good boy? You do realize I will still allow you to see your mother occasionally, don't you?"

Touya squirmed for a few moments in his father's grasp; quickly realizing that it hurt more to do so. "Fine. I'll come," he finally said, malice in his eyes.

* * *

Touya held a boken clumsily, as Hiroshi adjusted his grip. His eyes were blank as ice, as his father showed him a guard position. He copied, with a few corrections along the way. He had been practicing with the boken for weeks now, and still was having trouble with even the most basic things, hold, stance, and positions among other problems.

"Damn it, you're not even trying, are you?" his father muttered. Touya stood still, his mind elsewhere. Hiroshi smacked him on the head with his own boken. "Wake up! Baka!" Touya shook his head, blinking.

"I'm not a natural like you," he said quietly.

Hiroshi scowled. "You can learn to be natural. I did."

"How do you learn to be natural?" Touya asked.

Hiroshi shrugged. "You just do. Now. The pattern dance I showed you the other week. Have you been practicing? You better have been, because I want you to do it now."

Touya began the pattern dance, Hiroshi acting the part of the attacker, making the strikes that went with the blocks that made the pattern dance. Touya, apparently, had not practiced the pattern dance. He got hit several times, and began to get jittery after the first few hits.

Hiroshi scowled. "Work, Touya. I need you to eat, drink, sleep, and breathe kendo. It must be the only thing you ever think of." He noticed Touya was, once again, off in his own world. He sighed, and pulled a paper charm from his sleeve. On it was the symbol for fire. While he had become conditioned to the fire burn of such charms, Touya hadn't, and his link with ice, through both his parents, would ensure that one touch would be a painful experience.

Hiroshi grabbed Touya by his hair and held the fire charm to his soft white cheek. Touya barely registered his father's motion before a searing heat struck his soft, pale cheek, which quickly turned a brilliant crimson. He screamed, his legs collapsing under him, hanging by his hair from Hiroshi's hand. Tears fell from his eyes, and Hiroshi slowly removed the paper charm. "More willing to pay attention now?" Hiroshi asked. Touya nodded sullenly, a hand placed gently on his blistering cheek.

* * *

Touya rubbed aloe over his face. He had refused to cooperate at all, and his father had been very angry. But the burns were worth it. Hiroshi had promised he could see his mother tomorrow, if he would begin cooperating and practicing. Touya had agreed.

* * *

"Mother?"

"Oh, my Touya! It's been so long! I missed you dear! Oh, how old must you be now? Almost 200, right?" Reika cried out, running to her young son.

"Almost, mother. I've missed you so! Mother. Mother, I love you!" Touya looked about 13 by human standards, but now he broke down like a child, enveloped in his mother's arms. "Oh, mother! I hate him! I hate how he keeps us apart! I miss you, mother! Why can't he just leave us alone?"

"Touya, my poor dear. Don't say that. He's your father. I love him, too. He has his reasons, dear. Things could be worse, dear, much worse. You must remember that. Be thankful for what you have, my Touya. Just cry now, dear. Just let it out." Touya did just that, wrapping his arms around his mother's neck as his mother held him and gently stroked his hair, comfortingly. Touya soon fell asleep in his mother's gentle arms.

* * *

Touya's eyes slit open; seemingly at the same time the dawn's first light pierced his window. He stood and began preparing for another day. As he'd promised, he'd begun working on his kendo properly. Once he had started taking it seriously, he discovered he enjoyed the furious strokes of the pattern dances. It was calming in a way. Since, Hiroshi had not had to push him to practice. Especially once they'd covered the basics.

Touya had surprised himself, the day he'd awoken and thought about how he looked forward to his next lesson. But he'd slid into it easily, and Hiroshi had been secretly very pleased at Touya's newfound desire to master kendo.

Touya took a brisk shower, put on his clothes and took up his katana. It had only been a few days ago that Hiroshi had given him his katana and told Touya that he was ready to put away his boken. It was another thing that surprised Touya – he was incredibly proud that Hiroshi had decided he was good enough. He hadn't even asked to use a katana in a long time.

Touya felt himself smile softly... he felt triumphant. Perhaps since he'd apparently done so well... Perhaps he would ask to see his mother again. It had been three or four decades since he'd last seen her – in exchange for his cooperation in his training. Since, he'd become so involved, he hadn't thought as much about her, though the night always brought her face back.

The smile faded, and Touya sighed. He'd thought about her. Especially on nights when Hiroshi had thoroughly embarrassed him, or when Hiroshi got angry at him and punished him... Nights like that he sorely wished he could go running to his mother, and cry like a baby. Nights like that, he didn't care as much if it made Hiroshi think less of him. But he didn't ask, because obviously, Hiroshi wasn't in a good mood either on such nights.

Touya heard a knock at the door and his eyebrows knit together – he wasn't late, Hiroshi wouldn't have sent a messenger to rouse him yet. He opened the door to see one of his father's other servants. The servant-woman, one he knew, named Gitana, seemed distressed.

"Oi, Touya, your mother's fallen ill. She'd been sick for a short while, but it wasn't serious, at least we didn't think, so there was no need to alert you. But now, she's very ill and -,"

"My mother's ill? Take me to her." Touya's heart beat quickly in his chest, though his words came out in the calm, cool manner he'd been trained to live his life.

Gitana nodded, "Yes, but you must see Hiroshi first. He told me to tell you about your mother, and he said you could see her, but you have to go to him first!" Gitana was wringing her hands, looking at Touya morosely. He seemed so placid, so immaculate, but she'd lived with ice people long enough to know how to read them. She could see war raging behind his eyes, and such a heartbreaking distress. He was still just a young man, comparable to human 16 year olds, and his mother he hadn't seen since he was like a 13 year old.

"Then take me to him, but quickly." Gitana nodded again, walking as fast as she could without breaking out into a run.

* * *

Hiroshi looked sadly at Touya. He could see his son shaking before him. Anger at being kept from his ill mother, for not having been told right away, was clear in him. But deeper, fear of his mother's death was present. He had not seen her in so long.

"You know now your mother is very ill. It then falls to me to give you news of life changing application. It was originally my intent, that, when I deemed you old enough, you would go to train with the ice master in the depths of lower Makai. But, with your mother's failing health, I have had to come to a decision. It is clear to us now that this sudden striking malady cannot be kept at bay long. She has a few months, probably less." Touya's heart tugged and twisted viciously at these words. "For that time, I will allow you to stay by her side. After that, you shall train with me for only a year more, then you will have to go, whether you are ready or not."

Touya wondered indistinctly why he should leave only a year after his mother's passing, but that didn't matter now. Every moment was precious. "May I go to her now?"

Hiroshi sighed. "Yes, I sense the eagerness in your youki." Hiroshi had not finished his sentence before Touya was gone to his mother's bedside. Hiroshi shook his head. "He shall tread a very hard path. He must not falter."

* * *

Touya held his mother's hand delicately, as though she were made of glass. "Mother... do you still feel... hot?"

His mother looked at him weakly, sweating rivers. "Yes. Touya... Don't worry. Hiroshi will keep you safe, as long as he can. Your master..." She shook her head. There was nothing to be done about Touya's future master.

Reika stared deep in her son's eyes, using the bitter scraps of power she had left, to look ahead and find something to give him hope. She smiled softly, as her eyes glazed while she used her power. Touya watched helplessly, understanding what she was doing. He wished she wouldn't – she was only taxing herself.

"Yes... When you leave your master. You will be desolate a long while. But then... You will meet him. He will change your life. He'll confuse you half to death, but in the end... You may run from him, several times even, but in the end... you will always go back to him. You'll learn love with him... and he will care most deeply for you."

"Mother... I know love; I love you!"

"That's not what I mean, my dear. You love me, but not the way you shall love him." Reika reached up slowly with her other hand, and laid it to rest on Touya's cheek. "Be strong... You mustn't let the pain hold you so tightly..." Reika winced slightly, as she drew the pain from Touya, into her own emaciated body.

Touya sighed as his worries were lifted temporarily, but then looked at his mother in sorrow and gently pushed her hand from his cheek. "Mother... You mustn't... you bear enough pain without taking mine. You stupid woman!" Touya began crying and he pulled his mother up in a careful hug.

She felt so sick in his arms, thin, and desperately hot and sweaty. Her skin was ashen and pasty, her hair was matted, and her once shiny eyes were horridly dull. "Mother! What made you so sick!? What's so wrong?"

"I'm not sure. Homesick, for the koorime... and it's never cold enough here. But I'm so glad you're here. I wouldn't trade you for anything in this or any world." Reika held her son as firmly as her sickness would allow. Touya tried to give her his cool life, but she was so hot! Her touch nearly burned him, though he would never let go.

* * *

"Mother? Mother, wake up!"

"She won't wake again, Touya. I'm sorry." She said quietly, standing in the doorframe.

Touya squeezed his mother's hand in his – he hadn't let go for days, weeks. She was finally gone. He looked up at the woman in the door – it was Aiko Miyuki. She'd been keeping him company these last few days, as his mother deteriorated. Miyuki wasn't real. He knew that.

Touya looked back at his mother. Miyuki looked much like her, except with more light blue in her hair, and her eyes looked more like Touya's. "Mother... at least you went in sleep, I suppose... You must not be in pain any more." Tears flowed down Touya's cheeks.

Miyuki walked over and embraced him. "Hush, now dear. Your mother doesn't want that." Just because Miyuki wasn't real didn't make her less comforting. Touya sobbed on her shoulders, wishing his mother were still alive.

Hiroshi stepped into the room. "Touya. I'm afraid you must come now. I cannot allow you to dwell on this. And now the clock is ticking. We have one year, and then you must leave to begin your formal training with Ice. By then, you must master kendo, and you must have the basics of ice technique."

Touya nodded, wiping his eyes, and followed Hiroshi out of the room. On the way out, he picked up his katana. That morning Gitana had fetched him; he had never laid it down till he reached his mother's room.

* * *

"Touya! I understand you are upset over Reika's death, but you mustn't continue to let it interfere with your training! You have only five more months with me here, then you will meet your master, and he will not be nearly as easy on you as I am!" Hiroshi rapped Touya on the side of his head with the flat of his katana.

Touya shook himself roughly. "Gomen. I... Miyuki warned me..."

"Miyuki better have warned you to pay better attention!"

Touya nodded. "She told me not to dwell whilst training: to save it for the night."

Hiroshi sighed and crossed his arms. "Touya, when you meet your master, at the end of these five short months... Do not speak of Reika or me. Never refer to your past. Always think of the present and reach for the future. He will accept nothing less. And never bring up Miyuki, under any circumstances."

Touya nodded. "How come it is so pressing that I leave a year after my mother's death?"

"There are a few reasons Touya. I can't explain them all. Among them, several blood-bound contracts, destiny itself... and my death, too, is eminent. The day after you leave is the day I die."

"Father! You can't send me off knowing you'll die the next day! Can't I stay that one more-"

"NO! You cannot change your fate! You will do as you are TOLD!"

Touya silenced. It had been... decades since Hiroshi had spoken to him in such a tone.

* * *

Touya packed the few possessions he had, the few things Hiroshi had said his master would allow him. He packed a small amount of provisions, but mostly he would eat what he could catch or find. He sighed, closing the small bag and looking at Miyuki. "At least you don't need to eat. And I can take you with me."

Miyuki nodded, smiling sadly. "Don't worry. I'll be with you, and Gitana will meet us there."

Touya sighed again. "Why can't I go Gitana's way, if you would remind me?"

"She's a higher level than you, and, with some help, she can transport herself. And, getting there on your own is one of your master's tests. If you came Gitana's way, he'd scorn you."

"That wouldn't be easier?"

Miyuki scowled. "Hiroshi has told us several times now-"

"I can't change my destiny. Our destiny." Touya amended with a sigh.

* * *

"Hiroshi... Father. Sayonora."

Hiroshi sighed. "Keep the sentimentality to yourself when you meet you master."

Touya nodded and looked down at the ground, embarrassed. He felt a tear at one of his eyes.

Touya heard Hiroshi's footsteps coming towards him, and then, for the first time, Touya felt his father embrace him. "Make me proud, baka."

Hiroshi stepped away, looking carefully at his son. Touya nodded eagerly. "I'll do my best, Hiroshi-sama."

Hiroshi snickered. "How did my son become so silly? I hope you get some sense knocked into you on the journey, because your master will pound it into you otherwise."

Touya blushed. He had already made another mistake. "Gomen."

Hiroshi sighed. "Well, I am proud of you. If I don't tell you now, you'll probably end up unintentionally committing seppuku."

Touya wondered whether Hiroshi was complimenting him or insulting him again but... Hiroshi had said he was proud of him! "I should go then." Touya turned and nearly ran from the room before he could mess up again.

Hiroshi went back to his room, running his fingers through his straight black hair, to contemplate his blood-vow. If Touya succeeded, where no one yet had... it would all be worth it. But what would Moruguhause and his woman, Nitronata, do to Touya's psyche? He sighed, wishing there was more time. Touya was still too sensitive. Moruguhause had a way with toying with people till they cracked.

Hiroshi laughed. But then, Touya had already cracked, hadn't he?! Wasn't Miyuki proof of that?


	2. Moruguhause

"Damn, it's so cold, Miyuki!" Touya shuddered; rubbing his arms for what little warmth he could gain from friction. This was unbearable even to him, and he was an ice demon!

Naturally, a blizzard seemed to swallow him a day or two into his travel, which Hiroshi had told him would take a month at a brisk pace. A month had seemed so inconsequential at the time. But if things kept up like this, it could be a lot rougher than he'd imagined.

Miyuki tried feebly to hold him, keep him warm, and support him, but she was poorly limited. Still, the effort seemed to improve Touya's mood, and, if nothing else, things seemed better with Miyuki around.

It was hard to hunt too, in such weather. Touya feared the day he would grow hungry. He could go a few days at the same pace, even under such circumstances, with little to no food, but what he'd packed wouldn't be enough for even his stamina if he went a month without being able to catch anything. At least they were coming to the forest Hiroshi had mentioned. Touya could take cover there, and perhaps find some edible plants.

* * *

"By the Gods, Miyuki, look at it! Only look at it! We're finally to my master's keep." Touya shuddered, looking up a forbidding mountain to the castle at its peak. He suddenly had an overwhelming urge to turn around and bury himself in the cold snow and let it take him away. As always, Miyuki knew exactly what he was thinking. Just as his mother always had.

"Touya, we must reach the summit. We can't turn back now. If you die, I die." Miyuki hated to use herself to con Touya into doing what was best for him anyway, but she knew Touya cared more for her than he did himself, since she was the image – nearly – of his mother.

Touya sighed, wishing for another cloak. "Right..."

* * *

"So, you're finally here, my new apprentice. Took your time, did you? Did you feel you were free to waltz in at any time?"

"Gomen, master. I came at the fastest pace I could manage."

"You're not serious. That was the fastest you could go?"

Touya bowed his head in shame. He'd thought he made good time – he'd arrived in three weeks, rather than a month, as his father had predicted. "Gomen, master. It was."

His master shook his head slowly, his long, straight, pale blue hair swishing, clucking his tongue condescendingly. He crossed his arms. "I see I have my work cut out for me. And here, Hiroshi had promised me an able student. He said he'd train you with all his knowledge. Obviously, he ran out of time, and was forced to send you ill-equipped. He should have told me he needed more time, rather than give me an only half-trained apprentice. Or could he have trained you to the best of his knowledge? Is the great Hiroshi fallen to such an undignified level? Is he no longer fit to take on an apprentice?"

Touya's fist clenched as his master continued. Miyuki hissed, trying to tell him to unclench his fists before his master noticed, but-

"You have a problem, apprentice? Are my words upsetting you?"

"I do not matter. My master may, should, speak as he wishes, without the approval of his student."

Touya's master nodded. "A good answer. Full of bullshit, but then, aren't all good answers? But, out of curiosity, I would have you speak frankly to me. So what are you thinking, little Touya?"

"Don't speak ill of my father. He ran out of time. He told me he was to die the day after I left, so he couldn't ask for more time. I won't disgrace him."

Touya's master nodded, toying with his hair, which was held in a loose ponytail. "Very well. Let's speak of you again, if it suits you to turn conversation from your father. How long do you think you'll last, I wonder? You know all my previous apprentices quit. No one else can stand me, except Nitronata!" Touya's master laughed, as did his mistress, Nitronata, who stepped forth from the shadows to stand next to her master.

"I don't suppose you'll last long. The longest I've had an apprentice was about 34 years. And he was a lot stronger than you, probably cleverer too. Certainly faster. Just look at you, runt!"

Touya had to change where this was going, before he did something he would regret. "You love her then, master? Forgive my intrusion."

His master's eyebrows snapped together. "Don't speak unless you've already been granted permission, boy. I let it pass this time: you do not yet know my rules. But I will not be as forgiving and as loose with my rules as your father was. He always was soft. I am strict: you will see it soon.

"But in answer, no, of course I do not. Ice doesn't love. Ice doesn't feel. Ice is cold, uncaring. If you want to be its master you must emulate it."

"But-" Touya began to argue – he loved his mother, surely; yet, he was still an ice demon!

A look passed between Nitronata and her master. Nitronata glared at Touya, then her eyes widened, and Touya clasped a hand to his mouth – it had to be on fire! His other hand followed – he wouldn't scream, he wouldn't let them have that pleasure!

But he felt tears gathering in his eyes already, as he fell to his knees – this was nothing like Hiroshi's fire charms – he'd grown accustomed to that, those were nothing! This! It had to stop soon! After having been so long, freezing, even with his connection with ice, this sudden heat – inferno! – that raged in his mouth was agony. He whimpered, but then he couldn't help it, nothing mattered if the fire was gone, he screamed.

A few moments later, it was gone. "I warned you, you had one slip up, and then I would begin punishing you for continued mistakes."

Touya drew his hands away. They were covered in blood, and beginning to blister. He looked at Nitronata, who laughed. "Master, may I speak to the young fool?" She asked.

Touya's master nodded, waving a hand carelessly. "Say what you will, Nitronata."

Nitronata smirked at Touya, stepping over to where he kneeled. "It won't do for you to cause trouble for my love. As you can see, I am a fire type. It is very much my way to live passionately. And I swear to you, ice and fire can come together beautifully, when done right. But I fulfill my master's wishes. If he wishes you pain, you shall see it in glory. If he wishes you well, then that too, I shall see you have." Nitronata put a hand to Touya's chin, tilting it up, so he made eye contact with her.

He hissed: her touch burnt. She grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. She licked his blood from her fingertips and then did something that shocked him, and humored his master.

She tugged his face to hers and kissed him. He shook as her tongue flowed like liquid fire into his mouth, and her hands ran up down his back, leaving what felt like trails of lava. She licked away the blood all over his chin and lips, pushing his body against hers. Touya felt like fire. But... it was so good... She put her hands on his thighs and tugged him up, as if to carry him. She kissed his neck – gods, that was beyond indescribable! – and then her tongue was in his mouth again, and he found himself trying to give back, as it were.

Then she let go of his legs and shoved him stumbling backwards, till he fell flat on his back, panting. "What...?"

Nitronata laughed. "Moruguhause is much more impressive. When I kiss him, I feel shivers all down my spine; I freeze! You're little more than a bit of cool water. Never fear, he'll make you colder. Maybe even cold enough to suit me, one day!" Nitronata continued cackling, as she went back to stand by her master.

(Moruguhause- pronounced MORE-rue-jew-how-say - with most emphasis on the first syllable, and slight emphasis on the fourth ((how)) - )

"So that's his name..." Miyuki wondered.

Touya wiped his mouth with a hand still shaking.

"So, little Touya. Is the idea that she'll reward you enough to last you even a short time under my apprenticeship? No one can say they don't enjoy that: certainly not one of my apprentices!"

Touya stared at them in something like horror and shock. What sort of people were these? Was Nitronata willingly to simply let her master sell her off for his good behavior?

"Oh, and don't worry. The bar is very high. No one yet has been dedicated enough to earn another treat after she makes her first demonstration."

"Oh, and speaking of women, that reminds me. Your serving woman, Gitana? She is to be released. I won't allow my apprentices to slack and let servants do their jobs for them. However, she was so concerned about seeing that you made it here safely, I allowed her to stay until you arrived. She'll leave first thing tomorrow."

Touya scowled. He was about to speak out, before he remembered the burning. He looked away.

* * *

"Oh, thank heavens you made it here safely!" Gitana fussed over Touya's burned hands, rubbing aloe on them and binding them carefully in gauze. "Oh, I just wish he'd let me stay with you!" Gitana dropped her voice to a whisper. "Even with your Miyuki with you, I know you won't take care of yourself! Promise me, Touya; promise you won't let him get the better of you!"

Touya a paused a moment, "What do you mean?"

"Well, he was pretty blunt about it before. No one's lasted long under his training; he's terribly cruel, especially when the mood strikes him. He'll find a weakness and pick at it until you can't stand it, and you run off before you've learned even what he considers to be the basics."

Touya nodded. "Miyuki will keep me safe from anything he can say."

"Just don't let him know about Miyuki. I swear, he'd find away to turn her against you!"

Miyuki glared at Gitana. "Never!" She clasped Touya's hands. Gitana continued binding them. Miyuki sighed. "I do wish I could do that, though. I'll have to make sure you do it, huh, Touya?"

"Yeah..." Touya whispered.

"What?" Gitana asked.

"Hm? Oh, Miyuki said she wishes she could do that, and that she'll have to make sure I do." Touya explained, stumbling out of Neverland.

"Make sure that he does, Miyuki." Gitana said with a sigh. Miyuki nodded.

* * *

"Up, lazy! Time to begin!" Nitronata shook Touya awake with burning hands. She didn't have to really shake him, however. The moment her skin touched his, he jumped up, then scrambled to cover himself. His experience with women was limited, but something told him it was not right to be seen by your master's mistress in just a loincloth.

Nitronata smirked. "Ah. It's as I thought – you do compensate for being short of stature!"

Touya blushed. He didn't have experience with that either. He suddenly wished he didn't have that damned, tedious sense of modestly.

Nitronata left, cackling as usual. Touya still hadn't gotten used to getting up so early and going to bed so late. He occasionally wondered if his master let him sleep only long enough that he could take Nitronata back into his chambers. Of course, he fell asleep right away, and couldn't be sure how long he slept. Miyuki couldn't tell him either, though she was always in his dreams. Lately, more and more nightmares.

* * *

Touya soon learned that his master stressed mainly three things in his training: control, dexterity and constant awareness. Strength was important too, but the others were what Moruguhause wanted. Touya worked to keep those in mind. But for some time, control over his energy, and awareness over it, escaped him… Which did not fail to be costly.

* * *

Touya shivered painfully, trying to inspect and ascertain the worst of the damage. Once again, he had failed to meet his master's, Moruguhause's, ridiculously high standards. Moruguhause had assigned him an entirely new technique, and told him to master it in the space of two days – all of it.

Even though Touya had learned to be a quick study, he still fell very short of learning all the nuances of the technique, let alone mastering it. And since it was that technique that he had to use to defend himself when he sparred with Moruguhause, he had been defeated miserably.

To add insult to injury, once Moruguhause had decided that Touya had no hope of defending himself using the assigned technique, he punished him for not having studied it ardently enough, and for having failed in a given task. Touya's thoughts burned with the memory of it.

* * *

"What a disgrace… Why do I waste my time on worthless, lazy, stupid students like you?" Moruguhause asked, pacing before Touya, who knelt on the ground, his hands in tight fists – it wasn't his fault that what Moruguhause asked of him was impossible!

Moruguhause flung Touya to the wall with barely a glance, freezing his arms and legs to said wall, locking him in place. Touya groaned on impact, shuddering as the coldest ice he could imagine slithered up and bound him.

"Nitronata, what do you suggest for this incompetent's punishment…? I was rather leaning towards 'the room'…" Moruguhause said, looking off into space, as though the perfect punishment would suddenly fall from heaven into his mind.

The obsequious Nitronata drew out of the shadows where she had been watching, as per usual, and shook her head softly. "Master, I think not. We should save that for a little later down the line, especially if he can not be broken."

Touya glared at them both from the wall, and Miyuki frantically tried to make him turn his anger away and be submissive to their whims – it was the best way. Yet she knew Touya would be unable to give in so quickly – he was beaten, but he still had his pride. For now, anyhow…

Moruguhause and Nitronata took no notice of Touya's glare, talking amongst each other. "Master, why not…. The thumb screws?"

"Too tedious…"

"The rack?"

"Hmm… maybe another day. It doesn't really seem to fit the crime, and I'm not in the mood."

"Fit the crime…? Oh! I have an idea!" Nitronata said excitedly. "The Tractatio machina!"

Moruguhause thought a moment and laughed, smiling. "Excellent! We can program it to teach him the technique! Eventually, even he'll get it right!"

* * *

Touya's memory cut off abruptly – he didn't want to think about their machine… how it manipulated him, forced him to go through the technique over and over again, how if he'd even made the slightest mistake it would send a jolt of pain through him, stemming from wherever the error was made – if a misstep, then through his foot, if his hand placement was wrong by a fraction of an inch, his hand, etc. etc.

Of course, as the pain took its effect on him, he made more mistakes, and then more pain. He was exhausted…. He'd been in that… thing… for weeks, or at least that's what it felt like. No food, water, or sleep the whole time, and as the pain pulsed within him, it was harder to think, and Miyuki had started fading.

Eventually, Moruguhause had glanced at him in disgust, getting rid of the device and sending him back to room with orders to rest for an hour and then come back. Touya had barely made it out the door.

* * *

Touya shuddered, his body a cacophonous jumble of fried nerves, screaming muscles, and scarred flesh. Miyuki finally returned, looking devastated.

"Oh, you poor dear! You were so upset, you couldn't even give yourself me to comfort you! Oh, but I'm here now, oh, you poor thing!" Miyuki fussed, sending cool healing waves through Touya, but all it did was numb the pain slightly.

"Miyuki, I can't live like this!" Touya said, half-crying in pain.

"Oh, I know dear! I just don't know what to do! Now hush, hush and sleep, you need to rest while you can." Miyuki said, and Touya promptly fell asleep.

* * *

"Good, you're back on time," Moruguhause stated, looking over at Touya.

Touya felt only very slightly better; if Moruguhause tested him again, he would do even worse.

"Master… permission to speak?" Touya asked, knowing if he asked his question outright, he would not only not get the answer he hoped for, but he'd be punished yet again.

Moruguhause nodded, frowning slightly and folding his arms – as he always did when Touya wanted to speak. Nitronata giggled, somewhere in the shadows.

Touya ignored her – or tried to – and asked, "Master… I need a little more time, please. You've been…generous-" Touya hated to say it, but otherwise Moruguhause would be angry and say something about having been 'more than generous'. Touya continued after a momentary pause. "But I need more time, please, Master."

Moruguhause scowled. "Of course. I should have known a spoiled brat like you would not be able to master even such a simple technique in two days. Before I answer your question, you answer one of mine – Just what went wrong here? Are you just stupid, or lazy, or spoiled, or is it just your father's recalcitrant genes?"

Touya's fist curled loosely, but he was too weak to bunch them any tighter. He knew Moruguhause was baiting him, and he knew the answer Moruguhause wanted, but he couldn't give it entirely. Still, to get more time, even just a little, he would claim the rest of it. "Master, I am stupid and lazy and spoiled. I am a disgrace to myself, my master and to my kind." Touya couldn't believe the words he was saying. His pride ached like a live thing, and his body took a backseat to his hurt dignity.

"What about your father?" Moruguhause asked, smiling devilishly.

"He tried, but he didn't have much to work with…" Touya said, unwilling to go so far as to smear his father's name.

Moruguhause's smile faded. "Very well then. I have a proposition. You will match me again, and you may use any technique or series of techniques you know. If you are able to get me in hold or unable to move for more than five seconds, you will be given one day to continue practicing. If you fail, then you will be given five minutes to rest, and then we shall see if you have at least improved the assigned technique."

Touya grew slightly ill. He would not best Moruguhause in any technique – he was too weak now, and even in peak condition Moruguhause would still beat him. If he fought, he would lose, and be even more drained. "Then… Master, I would rather you test me on the new technique instead."

Moruguhause scowled. "Oh, no! You asked for a more time, so now you'll have your chance! You should be more careful of the favors you ask, if you think you will turn them away later!"

* * *

Touya glanced around the dark room suspiciously. After having failed, once again, at the new technique, Moruguhause and Nitronata had thrust him into this room, which was about the size of a broom closet. But aside from being small and unlit, it carried no threat. They'd certainly done worse…. He wondered what could be meant.

A few moments later, he heard the sound of gases being pumped into the room, and tried to hold his breath, sure it was some sort of poison. He leaned against one of the back walls and slunk down, sitting still.

Eventually, he couldn't hold anymore, and inhaled regretfully – nothing happened. He reached out at his sides to prop himself up, but felt walls. They'd closed in around him – they were only an inch away at his sides! Still… this wasn't so bad.

Touya breathed deeply, trying to stay calm – he had less space, but nothing had happened to him. He waited…. And waited. After a while, his guard fell, and he fell asleep, wondering what the point of such 'punishment' was. He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth though – this would be his first chance at a decent rest in ages….

* * *

Touya woke slowly, and was still in the room… It had been a while since they'd shoved him in, and Touya was starting to feel hungry. He wondered absently if that was what the punishment was… no food…

Miyuki hadn't been able to form in such a small amount of space – she had an odd way of following certain spatial and reality rules, and not following others… Touya was never really sure what she would see as being ok or not. Still, he saw her in his mind's eye, and she spoke from within him, reassuring him that they would probably let him out soon and give him some food. They both wondered what was meant by such punishment….

And then a great pain hit Touya, but it wasn't physical… He'd seen his mother kneeling before Moruguhause, being beaten. He screamed at the horror of such a thought, wondering how such a thought had come into his mind. It faded and everything went to normal again… but after another great while, he received similar nightmarish visions, sometimes about his father, but usually about him, his mother, and Miyuki.

* * *

He'd been in the room for weeks, jumping at noises only he could hear, starving, cold, and so he was having hallucinations… Which was exactly what Moruguhause and Nitronata had intended… to drive him wild with isolation.

When they finally released him, his nerves were shattered.

* * *

Touya shook silently, curled up in the fetal position in a tiny, black room. The room shrank to meet its occupant's size, as Touya had found out a few years ago when Moruguhause first used it on him. He had only an inch or so of space above and to each side.

It was dark… Touya hadn't known dark like the room before he'd come to Moruguhause's apprenticeship. He waited for the nightmares to start…. They'd gotten worse, as Moruguhause's training intensified. He replayed failures in his mind, pain, and… lately…. Moruguhause had began taking him to his own chamber… and those sessions were so nightmarish…

Those were normally the first images to come, painfully… memories of his master's hands tearing off his clothes, sparse as they were… memories of his master's voice reprimanding him, demanding him to work harder, or continue to suffer so… and then it began. His master's hands roaming over the contours of his skin, and then all the painful, vicious ways his master would enter him and tear him apart. And Touya had to endure those sessions silently, for every scream made Moruguhause angrier, more violent. And if Touya denied his master, or attempted to defend himself, it got still worse. So, he'd learn to submit in silence, and wake every night shaking and terrified and covered in sweat. And Miyuki invariably came and comforted him, most often in vain.

He screamed in the dark, the images tearing him apart almost as painfully as the actual events. He pushed furiously away at the walls, suddenly hating the feeling of being closed in, and when he couldn't push them away, he screamed even more, scratching at himself and tearing at his hair and skin till blood trailed across his skin and his hands were sticky with it. And as always, Miyuki came to him, terrified, but always trying to help him, and do her duty.

"Touya! Touya, you've got to calm down! You know you're giving them what they want!" she said from within, unable to form in such limited space.

Touya kept shaking, "I don't care what they want, or that I'm giving it to them, if it'll get them to let me out!" His voice trembled.

"What about your pride?" she asked sadly.

"Fuck pride!" his voice shook, "What's it gotten me, but hurt? I'd rather do what he asks me, whatever it is, and be free of this! My pride's always been in the way of getting what I want, or of getting away from what I don't want. Pride is something only fools have!"

"But,"

"Miyuki, you have to go! Get away from me now!" Touya screamed, flinging his hands out as though to shoo her away.

"Touya, I won't!" She yelled within him, resolute yet afraid.

"GO!" he cried, wanting to keep Miyuki pure of such things. He made her leave more and more lately – when Moruguhause beat him, and especially when he raped him. He only let Miyuki come to him at nights, to comfort him when he was broken and sobbing. Yet, he could see she too was becoming more dejected. He hated himself for his weakness, and for his allowing Miyuki to be tainted.

* * *

Moruguhause looked over Touya, who stood as still as he could, given the way he still trembled after having been in the room again. Moruguhause stood attentive yet relaxed; his arms crossed, eyes narrowed with derision, while Touya stood, his eyes staring widely at the ground, his arms stiff at his sides, his hands fisted in an attempt to keep from shaking anymore. "Master, I apologize for not having pleased you. Please, forgive me." Touya said, as he knew Moruguhause wanted. His master nodded momentarily.

"Very well. I expect better from you in the future, however. See that you train harder, my foolish apprentice. Dismissed." Moruguhause said, waving Touya out of the room. Touya bowed briefly and began walking out quickly. "Oh, and another thing, before you leave. I forgot to ask you," Touya turned when he heard his master's voice, fearing what Moruguhause had to say. When Moruguhause held him after he'd dismissed him already, he rarely had anything good to say. "Who is Miyuki?"

Touya trembled. "N-No one…Master…" he stuttered, hoping that, for once, his master would leave it at that.

Moruguhause smirked. "I doubt that… You've been calling her name out the last several times you've been punished. It often sounds like your holding a one-sided conversation with her. And don't think I haven't noticed you talking to yourself before. It just wasn't until recently I heard this name… Miyuki…"

Touya searched for a way to explain himself "I was babbling… It's… not like anyone else is here for me to talk to…"

"Oh, I have no doubt that you were babbling… yet, it disturbs me that you won't explain yourself. The student must always tell the master if something is troubling him. There can be no secrets between a student and master; else, the student can never learn anything of value. Who is Miyuki?" Moruguhause said silkily, which made Touya wince despite himself.

"I hold no secrets from you… to do so would be… highly disrespectful, Master." Touya begged Moruguhause in his mind to leave him alone, this one time, or even to do anything else, literally anything, but question him about Miyuki. He fixed his stark wide eyes on his master, pleading hopelessly. He knew Moruguhause would not turn away from this, not for anything. He might take a bribe for a while, but he'd always be prodding for the answer. He and Nitronata had a way of prying until they found out everything about a person, until they destroyed the person.

Moruguhause scowled. "Filth! You lie to me before my face, then dare match your eyes to mine?!" Touya looked away immediately, afraid of his rash move. "Nitronata, teach this boy some manners!" The omnipresent Nitronata stepped, as always, from the shadows, and Touya fell to his knees as the first crashing wave of invisible lava seared at him. He bit his lip, tears stinging at his eyes and vaporizing almost instantly. His mouth was dry, as his shaking escaped any semblance of his control.

It stopped, and he panted relief. "Who is this Miyuki whore?" Moruguhause demanded.

"She's NOT a WHORE!" Touya shouted, regretting the words for the pain they would bring. But he couldn't let them talk about Miyuki, and certainly not in such a way. He screamed helplessly as the next predictable wave Nitronata's fire-magick seared away at him. He crashed to the floor, his head connecting with a violent thunk, as he writhed in pain.

It ended again, and he sobbed. "Who is this wench, Miyuki, damn it? Next time you're going back in the room, with Nitronata's flames to keep you warm!" Moruguhause growled, gesturing threateningly at the door Touya had left only a short while ago.

"No, no-no, please, master!" Touya suddenly felt so much weaker than he'd ever felt before.

Moruguhause crossed his arms. "Then tell us, who is this wench I keep hearing you talk to?"

Touya cried, struggling to, at least, sit up. His arms were too weak to support himself. He slumped to the ground sadly. "She's just a figment of my imagination, I guess. She came to me when my mother was dying. She tries to comfort me and make me take care of myself. That's all," he explained, staring somewhere around Moruguhause's feet.

Moruguhause nodded sagely. "Like Mora…" he muttered. Touya glanced up weakly, wondering who Mora was… had Moruguhause once had a Miyuki? Or was Mora simply another apprentice, who had had a Miyuki? His head fell back to the stone floor limply. Which ever, it hardly mattered. Touya wasn't sure what Moruguhause would do, knowing about Miyuki, but he had a feeling his master would not simply leave it at nothing.

"What does Miyuki look like?" Moruguhause asked surprisingly quietly.

He caught Touya off-guard, with his quiet, curious voice. Touya answered slowly, waiting for it to be a trap. "She looks… like... like my mother… except for a few strands of light blue in her hair. And she had narrow, solid blue eyes, like I do…" he said, somewhere between a whisper and a plea.

Moruguhause paced momentarily, driving Touya desperate with confusion. "Nitronata...?"

"Yes, Master?" the fire-woman answered.

"Show me…" he said, gesturing absently at Touya.

"If I can…" she said, as her shoes clicked hollowly across the floor. She knelt down before Touya. Nitronata's hand extended, and she took Touya by the chin, lifting him off the floor. Touya felt heat in her touch, but not the scalding heat she normally used on him. He became even more confused, yet what happened next was even more confusing.

"Think of Miyuki, every aspect of her." Nitronata said, and, whether he wanted to or not, Touya immediately had a mental image of Miyuki, and then she popped up behind him, cradling his torso in her arms, resting her head against his, comfortingly.

"It's okay Tou-" Miyuki gasped, and Touya's eyes snapped open again, as Nitronata kissed him for the second time in the roughly three-quarters of a century that he'd been with her and Moruguhause. And this time, as the same wonderful feelings of warmth and arousal filed him, he also felt something seem to leave him… He felt like he was sharing something he didn't want to share.

Nitronata broke the kiss quickly, looking at a very frightened, aroused and bewildered Touya right in the eyes. And after a moment, her eyes seemed to change, and her body, until she looked like Miyuki.

At first, Touya only stared as she changed, but when he realized whom Nitronata was beginning to look like, he pushed himself backwards in shock. Nitronata stood, grinning. "Judging by the look on his face, I'd say this is how his Miyuki looks." Nitronata turned grandly, to look at Moruguhause.

Moruguhause nodded approvingly. "Very good. You are now dismissed, Touya. Rest and train. I will see you again in… a month, I think. I'm tired of seeing your face so often. It's a bit disturbing." Moruguhause and Nitronata, who still looked like Miyuki, left.

Miyuki herself tried to comfort Touya. What could they do with the simple knowledge of what she looked like? Slowly, Miyuki's words quieted Touya, but he still thought back to when Gitana had warned him not to let Moruguhause and Nitronata find out about Miyuki. "I swear, he'd find away to turn her against you!" rang in his thoughts. After a great while, Touya was able to stand and stumble back to his room, full of confusion and fear.

* * *

Touya trained furiously, trying to ignore the rumbling in his stomach, the freezing, numbing temperatures that he was working in, and the effects of fatigue on his worn body. Miyuki begged him to stop and rest.

"Touya, if you don't rest now, you'll collapse! And then what state would you be in?" Miyuki decided not to add 'what state would she be in?' The days of using herself to guilt trip Touya into doing what was best for him were over – he was concerned about enough, and worried enough over her without her giving him addition reasons to fear for her. Especially now that Moruguhause knew about her.

Cold sweat rolled off Touya almost in sheets. "No… I have to… meet Master's… specifications…. I don't want more…" Touya ignored the tear that left his eye, as he tried now, to also ignore the all too clear memories of pain. He was pathetic and low; he had no honor, no hope, no desire for the future, no anything. And he knew he was pathetic. He was somewhere around 308, equivalent a twenty year old human male, and terrified of his master like a little boy afraid of getting a spanking. But that didn't really matter anymore, as long as he survived his master's training with as little pain as necessary.

"Touya, you're getting sloppier! If you don't rest, then none of this will help you anyway. If you're so tired you can't stand up when Master returns, then it won't matter how much you've trained!" Miyuki pleaded, looking at Touya sadly. Touya sighed, stopping.

"You're right… only for a little while though… I can't let it be longer than a few hours…." Touya went back to his room and the second he started to lie down, he fell asleep, unable to even make it to the pillow before exhaustion took over. Miyuki looked sadly at the covers, wishing she could pull them up – Touya was shivering, though whether from cold or thoughts, she was not sure. She shook her head and dissipated into Touya's dreams. He slept five days straight. He was too tired to even have nightmares.

* * *

Touya woke slowly, not having had the leisure in a long time. But once he started to think clearly, or even a semblance there of, he jumped out of bed, anxious. "Don't let this be the last day of my month; Master can't be coming today…" He hoped that, if luck should have it this was the day, then Moruguhause would be showing up late.

Moruguhause might pin a meeting to a certain day, but as to when he would show up that day, there was no guessing. Anything from pre-dawn to midnight was within his range, and he always expected Touya to be waiting for him. If he wasn't… Touya hoped that Moruguhause didn't feel like getting up early.

Touya ran to the training room, busted through the doors, and looked sadly at the very annoyed figure of his master, standing, arms crossed, scowling and red-faced. He bowed deeply, choking on fear. How long had his master been waiting?

"Three hours… I came at nine o'clock this morning. It is now noon. I want to hear an explanation for this, you lazy ass." Moruguhause's voice was quiet and deadly.

Touya nodded weakly, speaking barely above a whisper. "I let myself oversleep… I hadn't slept in a long time, and I,"

"That's it? You overslept? You made me wait for you three hours so you could catch a few Zs? I've heard better lies than that! Come on, quick now; give me a good lie for why you're so late. Give me anything you can come up with that would justify yourself better than this!" Moruguhause said, looking something like impatient and perhaps even amused at the last part.

Touya's thoughts raced confusedly. Was this a chance to get out of trouble…? "I… was training with the Tractatio Machina, to make sure I got my attacks right, and I couldn't get out of it…?" he said slowly, questioningly.

Moruguhause laughed. "Good, now give me another!"

"I... got lost?"

"We can do better than that now, can't we? Let's see some creative lying now!"

"I was training on the rooftops, in the blizzard, so I could fashion it to fit my whims, and I took a while to get back down the stairs, since I was on top of the North tower."

"Better, better, let's see another."

"… I started to lose control over my energy and had to fight to rein it in…?"

"No! That is not acceptable!' Moruguhause growled, and Touya stepped back, not expecting the sudden change in the game. He'd just been starting to get into it. "You must not ever lose control of your energy, and I don't want you to ever even imply having done so! Under no circumstances, none, must you ever let your own strength get the better of you, or your own speed, or intelligence, anything. You must allow nothing to get the better of you, least of all your own strength! We are ice, Touya! We are cool, calm, reserved, deadly, in control! We do not let anything catch us off guard or overpower us. We take advantage of other people's weakness; our weaknesses do not take advantage of us. And if you allow a weakness to take advantage of you, then you will fall. The only option is to eliminate any weakness in you, especially those that overpower you. That means if you let your power over take you, you would do better to be weak, if speed, you would be better slow, if emotion, you would be better heartless. That was my only option!" Moruguhause seemed impassioned, for the first time Touya could remember. Moruguhause had been angry before, but this time, it seemed more important than the actual fault.

Touya bowed. "Yes, Master."

Moruguhause calmed somewhat, standing as he had when Touya had first entered. "Now, my tardy apprentice, before you are punished for having been tardy and for not even having a good lie to explain it, I must see if you have improved any over the month I gave you to train in, though that is doubtful."

Predictably, Moruguhause beat Touya into the floor. When he finished, he stood, looking over Touya apathetically, calculatingly. "You have improved a little… but not very much. If you have nothing more to say or do, it is time you were punished for being so very late to see me, and then for not having improved sufficiently in the given time period."

Touya shook his head hopelessly – what could he say that would change anything? His stomach rumbled emptily.

"Up!" Moruguhause commanded, bending over Touya and lifting him to his feet by his hair. Touya winced, standing shakily. "One day… two days in the room, no food for that time, and then you come to my room. I haven't had a chance to play with my little Toy in a while…" Moruguhause smirked, and Touya shuddered, looking away. They shoved him in the room, where he painfully awaited release, only to fall prey to the very nightmare that played in his head a thousand times in his imprisonment.

* * *

Miyuki pulled a shaking Touya out of the room. She stood, smirking next to Moruguhause. "Miyuki…" he murmured, confused. She was standing next to Moruguhause. Miyuki laughed. "Come on Touya, Master's not done with you!" She and Moruguhause laughed, and as Moruguhause turned and led the way to his chambers, Miyuki tugged Touya along behind her and Master.

When they entered Moruguhause's now all-too-familiar chamber, he tugged Touya away from Miyuki, smiling sadistically at his student. Touya stared confusedly between the two of them. Why was Miyuki helping Moruguhause?

Moruguhause began tearing Touya's clothes off, and then shoved him onto the bed. A moment later, Moruguhause had stripped, and then he pushed Touya again, this time sending him off the other edge of the bed and then into Miyuki's waiting lap. Miyuki's arms pinned Touya's in place, her hands moving softly, warmly over Touya's chest. The he realized what was wrong.

"You're solid! You're not Miyuki! You're Nitronata in guise! Let me go; stop mocking Miyuki! At least take your own face, you disgusting, pilfering,-"

"Take him, Master; take him rough; I want to feel his body buck against us!" the fake Miyuki said, laughing, her hands still running over Touya's skin, but this time leaving what seemed like trails of fire in their wake.

Moruguhause laughed. "Your wish is my command, Milady!" Touya's master grabbed Touya's two kicking legs like they were nothing, splitting them and resting them against his shoulders. Touya fought from beneath his Master, but Nitronata held his arms, and his legs couldn't really bend the direction Moruguhause was forcing them, let alone anywhere else.

Moruguhause entered Touya with an impossible force, and Touya's eyes were like saucers, as Moruguhause pulled out of his body again. After another thrust, Touya got over the sense of shock, and began fighting against hem, pushing back against the false Miyuki, and trying to get his legs in a position to kick Moruguhause away. He hadn't fought against their treatment in ages, not since the first few times. Nor had he screamed like this.

He could barely hear Moruguhause and Miyuki/Nitronata laughing, but he knew they were, and he grew more furious, fighting even more. But it hurt so much more to fight – it hurt so much more!

Touya gasped as Moruguhause came and shot something deep within him. He pushed Moruguhause away weakly, crying, sore from fighting and training. Moruguhause stood and tugged Touya up roughly, allowing Miyuki/Nitronata to rise. Moruguhause laughed.

"You have some fight left in you after all. I thought we'd knocked it all out. I guess we just hadn't found the right buttons to push. Does it anger you, to have your beloved Miyuki holding you captive, so you can be raped? Your precious Miyuki, that you endured so much to protect, now turning her back and – "

"SHUT-UP!" Touya yelled, glaring at Moruguhause and trying to look strong again. "That's Nitronata in guise, not Miyuki! I know that!"

Moruguhause laughed. "But for how long will you know? Nitronata is good at tricking people… and she's dealt with this before! If she did it to me, she can do it to you… You'll get so confused between her and the real Miyuki, you'll kill her, just so you'll know which is which. Or you'll kill her thinking it's Nitronata. But I guarantee it'll happen."

Touya shook, shoving the real Miyuki back in his mind. She could not come out to help him at a time like this. "I'd never! I'll always know the difference!"

"You didn't know this time until you fell into my lap," Nitronata said, grinning.

Touya turned, wanting to hurt her, break her, anything, but when he saw Miyuki's face…

"You weak, disgusting…. Do you see now why I do this? If Miyuki's face stops you from hitting Nitronata, then you obviously are letting yourself be ruled too much by heart than head!" Moruguhause said, scowling.

"But as long as that is so… Miyuki, don't you want to show Touya how much you love him? After all, he made you to keep him company." Moruguhause spoke cunningly.

The fake Miyuki grinned, "Oh yes, indeed! I am indebted to him; I should show him some gratitude!"

"You sick bastards! Miyuki represents my MOTHER! Not some foolish sex toy!" Touya yelled, red-faced. But the second the false Miyuki touched him, he knew he had no choice but to do as they wanted of him. His skin turned red as he screamed with the fire pains. The fake Miyuki's clothes were seared away, and Touya refused to look at her, unwilling to shame the real Miyuki with such images.

Touya was shoved roughly back on the bed, from whence he tried to scramble up and get out, but Moruguhause fairly pounced on him and held him in place. Then Nitronata straddled Touya, while Moruguhause held his arms in place. Touya squeezed his eyes shut, thinking of Nitronata, not of Miyuki.

Between the two of them – Moruguhause and Nitronata – Touya couldn't even catch his breath. By the next morning, they were still fucking him like wild rabbits, and he had no more energy left to fight, nothing. He hardly had even enough to comply. He could only beg them to stop, and hope the price wasn't higher than he could manage.

Once they'd finally agreed to let him go, at the given price, he couldn't even crawl out the door. Moruguhause literally kicked his sore ass out unceremoniously. Touya skidded on the floor of the hallway and slammed against the wall, coming to an abrupt stop. He lay there, sobbing, beaten and broken.

What he dreaded most is the day they would do this to him and Miyuki would not be able to come to him. That could never happen. For now, Miyuki appeared and cradled his tired body as best she could, praying strength for him, and will power. Touya tried to stop thinking of the images Nitronata had given him of Miyuki naked. Miyuki stayed carefully out of his eyesight, knowing Touya would not be able to look her in the eye until he felt he'd reconciled himself. She didn't want to make him have to shift to look away…

* * *

Touya sat on his bed, dejectedly staring at Miyuki's corpse. Moruguhause had been right – The confusion between the real Miyuki and the fake had been too much. The real one had come to comfort him; he had thought it was Nitronata, come to torment him. He'd barely given her time to speak.

He'd killed the only thing left of his mother. The only person that comforted him or cared. Moruguhause was right. He was ice. He couldn't forget that – he was ice. He didn't care. He didn't need. He didn't hurt. Except he did care; he did need; he did hurt. He wished Miyuki were there. He wished he hadn't buried her devotion in his own fear and hatred. He wished he hadn't let himself become corrupted.

* * *

"You should feel honored, actually…" Moruguhause explained languidly. Touya lay shaking on the floor, pushed as far in the corner as he could get, as though if he tried hard enough, he could melt right into it. "You're the first student who has ever become good enough to rate such punishments. You see, as my students become stronger, I give them worse punishments. No one's ever been strong enough to warrant punishment past a simple beating."

Touya found it hard to feel honored that Moruguhause had seen him worthy enough to be raped.

"And I've never had a student so pretty as you, either." Moruguhause grinned, and Touya shuddered, sealing his eyes shut. "My master did the same to me, and his before that, and so shall you to your students; provided you become the next master, of course." Moruguhause knelt before Touya, running his fingers along Touya's jaw line. Touya resolved never to do such a thing to his apprentices. So had Moruguhause, when it had happened to him. And his master before him.

"Everything about the Ice master is strictly regimented, tradition, carved in our own, never-melting ice. My master gave me this same speech, word for word, while I was sitting just like you are now, curled up and hating him and wishing to God I had the power to be free, except it hurt so much I wasn't even aware of the wishes. The fact that I was moved to say these things to you is proof – You are destined to be a master, like me. And you will fall into the same pattern I did. Nitronata will guarantee it for you."

Touya suddenly wanted to fight – he did not want to be penned into a single, unchangeable destiny! His mother had told him he would get free of this! He sent out his youki and froze Moruguhause solidly. Moruguhause stepped out of Touya's ice like walking out of water and laughed. "It is sealed! I knew it, when I saw Hiroshi and his little servant girl! I knew they would be the ones who would bear the next ice master, had it been possible for them to bear children!"

"What do you mean, 'had it been possible'? I'm living proof it was!" Touya said, furious at what he thought Moruguhause was implying.

His master laughed. "You'll find out the day I die!" Moruguhause said, smirking. "You'll have to kill me to know!"

Touya stood up rapidly, forgetting everything, everything that had tempered his personality, everything that made him meek and scared and hurting, and attacked Moruguhause head on, launching his ice against Moruguhause, physical attacks, sheer energy, anything he could do, he did. And Moruguhause blocked, all but a single shard of ice. And in his fury, Touya discovered a favorite technique of his line of ice masters, the same way that each before him had discovered it.

He lifted his hands before his mouth, letting ice shards form, and by pushing a bit of youki through them in the form of his breath, he launched the shards of ice at Moruguhause. They passed through Moruguhause's protective ice shield like water, as Moruguhause had known they would, scoring wounds over his bare chest and arms, one striking an almost fatal hit, lodged only a few centimeters from his heart.

Touya didn't realize what he'd done, until he saw the shards hit. "Enough, Touya!" Moruguhause said, trapping Touya in ice, though with difficulty he'd never felt, as Touya's youki flexed against him powerfully.

A moment later, Touya calmed, and stared in awe at his hands, wondering at the new attack. Moruguhause tugged the shards out of his skin. "It's called the ice whistle. It's not hard, but it's secret. That is the only way to learn it. No one outside of the chosen ice masters of our rank or higher can learn to use it."

Touya looked up. "Then you're saying that I have no choice…? That I will follow blindly in your footsteps as the generations before me?"

Moruguhause laughed, finally throwing on a tunic, and tossing one over to Touya, who put it on after he remembered he was still stark naked from having been raped the night before.

"Word for word…" He shook his head disbelievingly. When his master had said he would follow in his footsteps, he'd never imagined he'd meant it so literally. He'd thought, when he had found Hiroshi, that he'd escaped the cycle. Moruguhause wondered who would make Touya think he'd broken the cycle.

Ice masters were tricky. You could never be sure what ice was going to do. Sometimes it could look perfectly safe, and then let you tumble anyhow. Sometimes, it was obvious when danger was afoot.

"Essentially." What interested Moruguhause most was that he couldn't recollect to clearly what happened to him until he realized he'd just done the same thing from the other side of things with Touya. But once it happened, he knew that it had been exactly the same. Even his and Touya's scars were all in the same places, comparatively.

"You're dismissed."

Touya left, confused. He was still stunned by his new attack. It felt so delightfully natural. Not like the other attacks. He'd learned to feel natural doing the other attacks, and, at times, they still didn't feel natural. This… 'ice whistle'… felt like a part of him he'd been missing. He wondered if being the new Ice Master would have the same feelings of naturalness.

* * *

The event of the ice whistle was an isolated one. Except for incorporating and perfecting that technique as well as the others, training continued as brutally as before. So did punishment and such. The brief idea that perhaps Moruguhause could show some camaraderie, and that perhaps existence with him would not be so wretched, was quickly perished.

But there was one marked change: Touya had, as of learning the ice whistle technique, been doing much better sparring against Moruguhause. It wasn't so much the technique that did it, but Touya was doing much better.

Everything felt increasingly easy. He picked up new techniques quicker, perfected old ones easier, and made all his techniques more powerful, more cunning, more like the way Moruguhause had wanted them to be.

Moruguhause watched this all with a smirk, having been confident all along that Touya would never perfect his techniques till he'd gained this one. He'd never expected Touya to get the techniques when presented to him; he'd known that any punishment he doled out for failing would be one Touya would have to take until he reached this point.

The appearance of the ice whistle technique marked such a turning point in every ice master's life. It wasn't the key to their power, but signaled an opening of the floodgates, the point at which the intensive training up till then finally bore fruit. And the lucky bonus for Touya was that Moruguhause was having to look harder and harder to find faults.

Still, he did find them, and punishments for even minor faults became greater and greater. This was part of the balance. Touya must have no attachment to his master, he must strive be absolutely perfect, he must not allow the slightest slip, etc. The room was used more and more frequently, as were Nitronata's firepowers, and rape.

There were, however, a few problems with these. It was getting harder and harder to restrain Touya to be put in the room, and incredibly hard to take him and beat and rape him. It had almost become more painful for Moruguhause than Touya. However, Touya could not be allowed to know just how much stronger he was until it was time. And he had to continue to be in fear until the underlying anger broke loose; that was what would ultimately make him defeat Moruguhause, but not what would make him master.

Because, the story that ice masters don't feel anything was a lie. Absolute bullshit. Ice masters had to learn to harness their emotion better than anyone else. It was their anger and hatred that got rid of the former master, and then will they had to have to be free and strong. It was when they learned to control their emotions and evoke them as necessary that they became true masters. There had not been a true master in… perhaps there had never been a true master… And perhaps that was the real trick of the ice master; that there was none.

It was a question Moruguhause accepted that he could not solve, as the 'masters' before him. All he knew was that Nitronata had something to do with it, as did the 'exile' and return, and the delusion. So many predestined details, working together, unseen, unrealized, all trying to create the true ice master….

* * *

Touya stood quietly as Moruguhause listed the various errors he'd made, and the punishments he'd have to endure for them. As the list went on, Touya thought of what tiny errors they were, how some of them could be advantageous, and how enormous the punishments were in comparison. It occurred to him that he'd been beating Moruguhause when Moruguhause had called for a stop, how Moruguhause had not been able to defeat him in a long time, and how cruel such punishments were.

And he realized he had nothing to fear anymore. If he didn't want to do something, Moruguhause was no longer strong enough to say otherwise. His fists clenched. "No!" he yelled, staring at Moruguhause straight in the eye.

"No what, baka?" Moruguhause asked, smirking, even though he remembered what was going to happen next to the very last detail.

"Not anymore! You've punished me for nothings, things that were impossible to do anyhow; you and Nitronata have been the subject of my nightmares for long enough! I'm stronger than you, Moruguhause." Touya said boldly, speaking the last in a dangerously soft tone, as he stepped forward, his eyes determined, and he used his master's name for the first time.

"Really? How dare you address me so! If that is what you think, then come, let us test it!" Moruguhause said, scowling, and preparing the same stance his master had.

As in discovering the ice whistle technique, Touya launched a full head-on attack, whipping shards through the air, beating his youki directly against Moruguhause's, and adding a flurry of youki-backed physical attacks. Moruguhause fought back, but Touya discovered, after some time, that Moruguhause was taking a more defensive fighting style, whereas Touya was making the offense.

The battle went on for ages, with Nitronata watching silently. Perhaps as much as two weeks later, it drew to a conclusion, nearly a tie. Both Moruguhause and Touya were exhausted and getting sloppy, but Touya made a lucky hit, which knocked Moruguhause backwards a step. Yet, it wouldn't be enough. He needed his anger to give him enough energy to finish it. Moruguhause knew it. "I'm responsible for your mother's exile, your exile, from the land of the Koorime!" he laughed weakly.

Touya's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in absolute hate. Everything really was all Moruguhause's fault! His youki and ice powers depleted, he made a final punch with just the last scrap of his energy in it, and knocked Moruguhause right to the ground.

Moruguhause panted. "Good, good… Ask me your questions, Touya. Then you will kill me," he said, as though it was nothing.

"What did you mean when you said that Hiroshi and my mother's child would be the next ice master, 'had it been possible'?" Touya asked, looking at Moruguhause searchingly. After a moment, he knelt, unable to stay on his feet anymore.

"Ah yes. That. I can only tell you part of that, because if I explain it all, then I'll have laid out your entire life for you, and there will cease to be any sport in it. The next ice master is always the son of the original ice master by the wife of a man with the same name as one the original ice master has loved. The boy must be cared for in that family and believe it to be it his own. If he knows he will inherit the title, he will not be a true master. I'm not sure if that made much sense, but you will see it one day, when you find out who your heir shall be. You won't plan it. It will happen later, and then you shall realize it and be in awe. Destiny is a strange thing. Anything else you would ask?" Moruguhause asked, thinking all the questions Touya wouldn't ask.

"Am I then, destined to fall in love with one named Hiroshi? Did you fall in love with someone named Hiroshi?" Touya could not bring himself to ask if his master had fallen in love with his father.

Moruguhause shook his head weakly. "No. You will not fall in love with anyone of the same name as the previous matches. That is, you might fall in love with a Hiroshi… but it is unlikely he or anyone else named Hiroshi will end up with a woman you gave a son too, and even if that happened too, the boy they raised would not be the next ice master. The trick is, the ice-master's have many sons." Moruguhause laughed, though he remembered the time sadly.

"And I did, love a Hiroshi, that is. It was not your adopted father though. If it clarifies, you are my and Reika's son, raised by Hiroshi and Reika. Hiroshi may or may not have known you were my son, but he knew he was bound to deliver you to me, and knew that you would be the next ice master. Reika might not even have known it was mine. Ice master's are full of tricks, Touya. We can lie with a woman and make her pregnant, without there being any signs for years, decades, centuries even. During that time, they can give birth to other children, while ours sits until it is time for destiny to unfold."

Touya raised an eyebrow, unable to believe that ice master's were so strictly tied to destiny as to allow such a thing to happen. "How are you responsible for my mother's exile from the koorime?"

"It is forbidden for koorime women to have sex. I raped her, so she was outcast. It must have been some hundreds of years later that you were born, under her and Hiroshi." Moruguhause panted, growing much weaker by the seconds.

"Have you taught me everything that is left to teach me?"

"Yes. Nitronata is yours, this castle, and Hiroshi's keep." Moruguhause said.

Touya nodded and began to walk away. "Finish it, Touya." He heard Moruguhause say.

"What? You can't tell me what to do any more, Moruguhause!" Touya said, spinning abruptly and yelling angrily.

"As long as I'm alive, I'm your master. So unless you want me to keep issuing commands, then finish it!" Moruguhause growled, glaring at Touya.

Touya's fists clench, and he pulled out a shuriken from his belt pouch, throwing it into Moruguhause's throat. Moruguhause died almost instantaneously, sighing with relief. His part was done, and everything had progressed exactly as it should have.

"Master… what is your wish?" Nitronata asked, stepping into the light.

Touya stared at her a moment, uncomprehendingly. "Moruguhause is dead. I just killed him." He explained, wondering how Nitronata could have missed this.

"I know. I wasn't addressing him. I was addressing my master." She said.

Touya began walking away, shaking his head, before the significance of these words set in. He turned to Nitronata. "You were addressing me?" he asked.

Nitronata laughed. "Of course! You are master now!" Nitronata bowed gracefully.

Touya thought this over a moment and left, going to his chambers. Moruguhause's old chambers. The master's chambers.

* * *

Nitronata laughed. "What do you mean, 'What am I?'"

"What are you? How is it that Moruguhause could leave you to me like property?" Touya asked, sitting on the edge of Moruguhause's bed-his bed, and staring contemplatively at Nitronata.

"Women are property… But that is beside the point. 'Nitronata' is the will of the Ice Master's keep. I am the product of some very fancy spell work: the permanent servant of your line. Whatever the current ice master wishes is my duty." Nitronata explained this all easily, as though it were not at all unnatural.

"I want Miyuki back. I want my mother back. Can you do these things?" Touya asked quietly, calmly.

Nitronata changed her form into that of Miyuki. "This pleases you?" she asked.

"NO!" Touya stood rapidly. "Damned woman! You made me kill her, and now you take her guise before me?! How dare you show such disrespect?!" Touya crossed the space between them in two large strides and punched Nitronata squarely in the stomach. Then another, another, a kick, a punch. He was a whirlwind of fury, his only goal being to hurt Nitronata as he hurt. "Drop her guise, you fool woman!" He yelled as he beat her, and she shifted back to her standard appearance, bearing each blow stoically.

She grabbed his fists suddenly, her hands slid to his wrists, and she tugged him forward, on top of her and kissed him directly on the mouth. His eyes widened, and he suddenly saw maddening images of Nitronata. He tore away her clothes, then his, and took her right there, on the floor, as violently as he could devise, a part of him thinking it was amazing to be on the other side. He'd been raped enough.

* * *

Weeks went on in this manner… Off and on, Touya's passions towards Nitronata varied from violent and hateful to violent and lustful… Touya wondered what was wrong with him... He reasoned it was the freedom… The lack of a master, the desire for revenge…

But one day, when he woke up to see Nitronata lying broken in the bathtub where he'd left her after having beaten and used her again, he had pause for thought. He couldn't keep it up. As much as he hated her, he was beginning to hate and disgust himself for doing such things.

"This place is driving me insane…" he muttered, shaking his head and grabbing a sheet to lay over Nitronata's bruised skin.

"Master…" she said weakly, sitting up after a moment.

"Get down, Nitronata. I'm leaving… I'm going home. This place isn't right. There's… too much…" Touya said enigmatically, shaking his head as he tried to figure out what it was 'too much' of.

"Yes, I know. Have a nice trip. I won't see you for a while. So, Sayonora…" she said, almost conversationally. Touya gave a single backward glance before striding out of the room.

"I suppose you should keep this place up while I'm gone!" he called back, never breaking stride.

"Yes, Master…" Nitronata mumbled, getting up and putting on some fresh clothes.

* * *

A/N: He's finally been freed of Moruguhause! He's finally the new master! Yay! Look out in the next chappie though: this is **not** the Touya you're used to! 


	3. Alone

Touya reached his home in only a few days, taking what now felt like an almost leisurely pace. He arrived to note that his father's realm had seen better times, surely, but had been fairly well kept up, considering that, while Touya was gone, virtually the only thing binding many of them there was honor. His adopted father, he remembered after a moment.

He entered almost cautiously, slowly remembering his way around. Or rather, he remembered every detail, yet did not want to rush himself. After a short while, he decided to identify the youki of the remaining servants – only 23, out of nearly 100. But after so long… it was a wonder to have even that many, Touya supposed. Of these, he sought out Gitana, and found her quickly, realizing she was at the other side of the fortress. Touya cursed, making his way over quickly.

He threw open the door and ran into the room, hugging Gitana tightly.

"Touya?!" she exclaimed, returning the embrace as soon as she recognized him.

The moment he heard the old, familiar voice, Touya fell into tears, clutching Gitana as tightly as he could, as though trying to grip something to hold him in reality.

And though he quickly began accidentally hurting her, Gitana said nothing, knowing Touya must be in more pain than she could know.

* * *

Touya sat, staring at his hands in his lap, silent. He had just finished telling Gitana all he'd endured, as she'd asked him to. She merely stood still a second, unsure what to do. This was not the young boy she'd cared for so long ago. In his place, was someone she didn't know, and was almost a bit afraid of.

Still, he was hurting, and, changed or not, Gitana would not let that continue, if there was anything she could do. "Touya, I'm so sorry…" she said, holding him gently. After a moment, he returned the embrace, much more softly than the first.

"Gitana… I'm not sure who I am anymore…" he muttered after a moment in the silent embrace. "Miyuki's gone. Hiroshi, Moruguhause, and, of course, mother are all dead. The man I called father for the first half of my life wasn't my father, and the man I hated and feared for most of the second half of my life thus far was my real father. And once Moruguhause died… I've become a beast. I raped her: beat her. Nitronata, that is. I killed Miyuki myself. I don't know who I am… I'm scared."

Gitana squeezed Touya little more tightly. "Touya..." was all she could say, a murmured word, a whisper, a plea. What could she say?

* * *

Touya only stayed a day or two at Hiroshi's domain, before restlessness drove him on, despite Gitana's pleas that he stay. In hindsight, Touya thought he should have stayed. Gitana would have taken care of him better than he did himself, and if he hadn't left, things wouldn't have gotten worse. But then, maybe they would have. Who was to know?

Later, he would chalk it up to destiny. He had to leave. If it weren't for the damned, plotted course of an ice master, with everything predetermined and decided, he might have lived a real life. Instead, he realized all his choices were false, all his hopes were hopeless, and there was no point but to fulfill the endless cycle.

He left, moving without heed, only heading forwards, but for his hunting. But that was rare. He found he wasn't hungry for anything. But he did want to hurt something. He was filled with an endless supply of rage and confusion, stemming from Moruguhause, especially from his last words.

He chanced upon several small villages, but it wasn't until he reached the closest large city that he realized what he wanted. And it was there that he found an outlet to his rage.

* * *

It was the city of Viroqua, small compared to the great cities of the upper levels of Makai, but still fairly large, especially compared to the severity of the land and people.

It bustled with people, and to Touya, who'd live most of his life with no one but Nitronata and Moruguhause, and before that, his parents and a handful of servants, it was almost overwhelming.

He walked about, his eyes wide, wondering how so many people could live together, when a youkai fairly crashed into him. He scowled, calling "Watch it!" over his shoulder to the youkai.

The youkai, a seven-foot tall minotaur-like creature, turned, glaring at Touya. "You watch it, child!" the youkai roared.

Touya adjusted to face the creature, grow angry, and the pent up rage began burning at him again. "Take it back, you fool beast!"

The minotaur laughed. "Why? You're hardly any threat to ME," it said. It froze mid-laugh, and Touya slammed into it with a punch, shattering the creature.

Others who had been watching suddenly came up, to tell him to leave or, ironically, to 'cool it.' At first, Touya tried to simply tell them to leave him alone, but some of them began to attack him, to try and force him away. Touya lost it. Everyone within a hundred foot radius of him froze and shattered as he sent a wave of youki out. It was the work of a few hours to destroy the entire city, and as Touya went, he became more specific.

He almost left one woman, but her fear fluttered in his senses, and he tracked her down like an animal. He found her, a small, pretty, young thing. She was a neko anthro ((cat-person)). She was pushed into a corner, shivering and crying. He looked her over, licking his lips hungrily.

"Oh, no… You're not… not seriously thinking of…?" she trailed off morosely, looking at him fearfully. He grinned, tugging her up and out of the corner where she knelt, and used her harshly.

The last few people he'd killed had been messy, bloody affairs. Her, he showed some sort of respect. He froze as he had the first few, lying full length on her side, gloriously naked and bruised. He ran his hands a final time down the curve of her gratuitous hips, before leaving. He was little better than an animal.

* * *

After Viroqua, he left a trail of destruction in his wake, devastating three more cities before the rage went out of him.

* * *

A/N man, Touya's got some Rage in him! But I think he's justified. He's been cooped up the last half of his life, beaten, belittled, abused and raped. He'shad all this anger and helplessness and what not bottled up in him, and it just exploded!


End file.
